by Jim Galford
“A fair trade,” Turess noted, clasping his hands behind his back. As he did, Raeln realized he was motioning for them to stop. It did little to ease his tension, but Raeln wondered what he was up to. “When I was brought back, I would have accepted. Was actually my original plan to sacrifice Raeln, Feanne, and Estin if needed to stand where I am today.”
“Then we have a deal?” Dorralt asked, lifting Estin a little higher as though to remind Turess that he was there.
“How can I trade the life of one I respect for one I love?” Turess countered. “You ask me to betray all of the good will I have attempted to create in this world so that I can be happy. I cannot in good conscience accept. Is tempting, but not something I can agree to. Offer me something else. Find another way, brother. You were always wiser than I. Reason this out.”
Dorralt’s skeletal shoulders dipped slightly in obvious disappointment. “We are at a standstill. The mists will tear the temple down above us, and yet we will survive down here for quite some time. When the mists come for us, they will be pulled into the hole. How long are you willing to watch me hold this man by the neck and threaten to throw him into the mists? I will not relent, and I know you well enough to know you will not either.”
“How long are you willing to betray the trust I once put in you? Put Estin down. You were the shield of this empire, not its executioner. If the empire were to exist again, it is Raeln now marked as the sword. The position was never—and will never be—yours. I made that decision for a reason.”
Lowering Estin until his feet nearly touched the ground, Dorralt replied, “I cannot let him go, Turess. My children may survive this with or without me, but if I do not replace Kharali in the next few years, both she and I will die. Would you condemn your brother to save your wife? Would you be willing to give me another who can survive the mists for a time, if only to broker a deal? I need someone—a wildling, due to the way I built the magic—if I am going to relent. Give me something. We both know this rift in Eldvar must be capped.”
“That is not my decision to make,” Turess admitted, more openly motioning for Raeln to stand back. He then turned to Feanne. “It is your husband who will die for this. I put it in your hands, Feanne. Which life will we lose and which will we spare?”
Feanne studied Estin for a long time before she nodded grimly. Raeln recognized that look all too easily. She was willing to give herself to save Estin. Before Raeln could catch Turess’s attention, he returned to staring down his undead brother.
“Though I would never wish it on her, Feanne is willing to trade her life for Estin’s,” Turess said. “How do we proceed?”
Feanne raised her hands defensively, keeping her head low as she advanced to stand at Turess’s side. She stopped there, waiting and never raising her eyes to meet Estin’s.
Raeln’s anger flared out of control, and he found himself growling angrily. He started toward Feanne, ready to drag her out of the room if he had to. He could not stand by and watch her kill herself for the slim chance that Dorralt might spare Estin, which she had to know was unlikely.
He made it almost to Turess when Feanne snarled at him and gave him a look that demanded he back down. Reluctantly, he stopped and returned his attention to Dorralt and Estin. He had moved somewhat out of position, but he was certain if he had a moment’s warning, he could still get between Estin and the mists.
“How do I know you will spare him?” Feanne asked, her posture immediately returning to a far more submissive state. “I will trade myself for him, but only if I can be certain.”
Dorralt laughed and shook Estin violently. When he did, Raeln watched Estin’s muscles tense, ready to act. He was planning something. For a brief moment, Estin and Feanne’s eyes met before both returned to their acting.
“You have no assurances,” Dorralt spat. “I do promise not to kill him today, though I will not promise anything about the future. It all depends on how long you survive the mists.”
“Then I have no choice.” Feanne kept her hands raised and walked up to stand directly in front of Dorralt. “Release Estin and take me. I will kneel to you as my lord, if that is what this requires.”
“I will agree to this,” Dorralt said, after staring at Feanne a moment. He slowly put Estin down on his feet. “I swear by our parents’ blood, Turess. Her life for his and Kharali’s. She will likely survive the mists longer than Estin, anyway. The Miharon made her strong.”
Turess shook his head. “You are not bargaining with me anymore, brother. This is between you and Feanne. Bargain with her.”
Raeln tensed, ready to lunge at Feanne to stop her, but it was Estin who stopped him. Though barely able to stand, Estin made several furtive gestures, warning Raeln to stay back. Reluctantly, Raeln held his ground. It would take him two strides to reach Dorralt and Estin, placing him farther away than he would have liked, given the proximity of the mists. Despite Estin’s gesturing, Raeln slid his paws carefully forward to hide his movement.
“The prophecies my brother wrote on his deathbed,” Dorralt mused, cocking his head to study Feanne. “He said six would have a chance of saving the world. Yoska, Raeln, Estin, Turess, Dalania, and you are here. You have done all you could. There is no shame in sacrificing one for the sake of millions. Your death will bring about a new age for the world. While you suffer, we may be able to contain the mists and close the door between worlds—”
Feanne attacked without warning. Her claws broke through Dorralt’s skull and several ribs simultaneously. She spun, hooking his arm and neck in a move Raeln had taught her. The maneuver put all of the foe’s weight against their own neck, though with Dorralt, that mattered little. It did force him to drop Estin, though.
Running, Raeln went for Estin. He was badly hurt, barely able to crawl, but he reached for Raeln’s arm, trying to meet him before Feanne lost her grip.
With a lurch, Dorralt snapped his neck sideways, breaking Feanne’s hold on him. He turned sharply, and a kick likely intended for Feanne hit Estin in the side instead.
Everything seemed to slow to a crawl around Raeln as Estin’s hand slid through his fingers and he tumbled toward the mists. Raeln dove for him, but the moment Estin’s shoulder hit the hole in the air, it seemed to grab hold of him and pull him in. Though it happened in less than a second, it felt like minutes as his long tail continued to fall into the mists even after his body vanished. Raeln scrambled forward, hoping to grab Estin’s tail and pull him back before it was too late.
Feanne leaped onto Dorralt, screaming as she ripped him apart one piece at a time. He fought her, trying to land a solid blow, but if he did, Raeln saw not so much as a flinch as she continued fighting. The dwarf and Yoska joined her, likely trying to keep Dorralt from overpowering her quickly.
Diving, Raeln’s fingers brushed Estin’s tail just as the last few inches were pulled into the mist. With a flare of energy and wind, Estin was gone, rapidly shrinking in the distance within the hole between worlds toward Kharali. Raeln watched as Estin tumbled, intentionally striking Kharali hard, pushing her toward Raeln before he vanished into the depth of the darkness.
Before Raeln managed to pry himself away from the hypnotic shimmer of the mists, Feanne lost her mind. She tore into Dorralt, hissing and spitting as she ripped him apart. Her fangs and feet did little, but her claws, still coated with blood, burned and broke bone at every swing. By the time Raeln grabbed her, Dorralt lay in a broken heap, his bones ever so slowly clicking back together.
“You bastard!” Feanne screamed, flailing as she tried to pull free of Raeln’s hold. He felt her claws brush his jaw and neck, forcing him to lock her arms to keep her from hurting or killing him by accident. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill all of your kind! Every one of you will die at my hands!”
Turess knelt beside his brother as Dorralt’s body rebuilt itself gradually. All the people who had remained at the staircase filed into the room. Soon the whole place was packed, though Raeln continued to hold Feanne in a position that ke
pt her from attacking him. He backed away from the main group in hopes of letting Feanne calm down.
Greth pushed his way through the soldiers to come over to Raeln. “Hey, pack-leader,” Greth said off-handedly, dipping his head in greeting to Feanne. She did not seem to notice as she kept struggling to get at Dorralt. “Raeln, let her go.”
“She needs to calm down first,” Raeln replied, only to get another thrashing attempt by Feanne to free herself. She kicked at his shin, slicing open his skin with her claws.
“Raeln, stop,” Greth insisted, putting a hand on his shoulder. “How did you feel after I died?”
“I…” Raeln managed to croak out before he eased his grip on Feanne, though he kept her close. “I’m sorry.”
Feanne’s fighting abruptly stopped as she looked at Greth with wide eyes. “Ghohar’s son?”
“Yeah,” Greth answered, smiling at her. “You see how you’re in Raeln’s arms? Kind of where I want to be right now, if you don’t mind. The oaf’s mine. Oh, in case you missed it, I’m dead. My sire says hello.”
Feanne extracted herself from Raeln’s grip and gave him an apologetic look. Then she ran over to Turess’s side and knelt beside the skeletal body of Dorralt, giving the glowing mists angry glances every few seconds. Greth’s arrival seemed to have shaken her enough that she seemed unable to find the fury that had kept her going seconds before.
Shaking his head, Greth said, “That went about as well as expected. What now? The Turessians are probably running for the hills and Estin’s dead. What do we do?”
Raeln took Greth’s hand and pressed it to his muzzle. “Let me sort this all out. We can talk after.”
“I expect nothing less,” Greth replied, though his expression looked far sadder than Raeln would have anticipated. They would definitely need to talk. Almost idly, Greth brushed at the scars that lined Raeln’s muzzle and ear, shaking his head.
Taking his leave of Greth, Raeln went over to Feanne and Turess. To his surprise, Dorralt was lying on the ground, though Raeln could barely recognize him. In healing from the wounds inflicted on him, Dorralt had become human again, fully fleshed. He looked tired and older than his features hinted at, but very much alive. Though Dorralt kept his hands up in surrender, he calmly spoke with the two at his sides. There was no apparent threat of violence from either side.
“We need to undo all you have done,” Turess was saying. “Thousands have died because of your greed. I won’t have any more die.”
Nodding while lying prone, Dorralt said, “I agree. Had the Miharon not called the mists here, I might have been able to help. Now I am powerless. I can even feel the dragons outside the temple struggling to stay alive and escape. This is more than I ever expected. More than I believed could happen. The voices of the dead in my magic blinded me, consumed me after too long away from any voices but theirs. I can already hear them returning, but I will help so long as I can keep my mind clear.”
“How do I fix this, brother?” Turess asked, taking Dorralt’s hand. “Can we save Estin? Can I still save Kharali? What is there yet we can save? Do the right thing, just this once.”
Dorralt looked over at Raeln and Feanne before turning his face away. “Someone must take her place. Even if I wanted to die, I cannot pull her out without the mists bursting into this temple seconds after she is gone. She is the cork in a bottle. We need a new cork within seconds. Without one, everyone here will die. Estin has already destabilized the rift enough that it will tear her apart soon. Even if he hadn’t, the Miharon is funneling all of the mists to this spot. If we can cap the rift…we may still die, but the rest of the world will survive.”
Lowering his head, Turess nodded sadly. “I will take her place.”
“Have you not listened to anything I said?” Dorralt demanded, his eyes flaring bright red for a second. He quickly calmed and lowered his face again when Feanne tensed. “I built this magic around using a wildling. I could have chosen anything, but once it was chosen, it is what that particular magic requires. It will take me years to redesign it. You cannot take Kharali’s place.
“I only see two wildlings down here who aren’t already dead and are strong enough to survive. Feanne or Raeln will need to give up their lives if Kharali is to leave. We cannot close the door into the next realm, no matter what we do. The Miharon pulled the mists to Kharali’s pain. Replacing her will buy you centuries, if not more, before the mists can break free again. There are very few options left, Turess. I am sorry. This was not what I intended all those years ago. I lost my way.”
“We need to find another way to close that rift,” Turess said, seemingly to himself.
Dorralt shook his head. “The Miharon is taking care of more than we can. It is pulling the mists here to push them back through the hole to their world. We can only seal the hole so nothing else comes through. That requires a sacrifice, and my poor choices left it attuned to wildlings or I would make the sacrifice myself. Given a few years, I might be able to fix that, but we have mere minutes. We must make a decision now, and I can work to redeem myself later.”
Feanne reached over and took Turess’s hand in the most tender gesture Raeln had seen from her since he had met her. Turess pointedly avoided looking at her at first, but eventually he squeezed her hand in return. Raeln had a good hunch what that exchange entailed.
From the crowd at the steps, the grey-furred fox Raeln had seen near Feanne earlier pushed his way forward. His movement was that of someone as well-trained as Raeln, ready to start a fight if he had any reason but willing to avoid it if he could. As soon as he emerged, Feanne’s face fell and Raeln swore she looked ready to run.
The grey fox knelt beside Feanne and Turess, snarling slightly as his eyes passed over Dorralt. He quickly turned his attention to Feanne.
“Do not say anything,” Feanne said, lowering her eyes. “I cannot do this, Insrin. Not now, not ever again.”
Insrin grabbed her hand before she could move it away, pulling her slightly to force her to look at him. When she finally did, he said, “I need to know, Feanne. Do you love him?”
“With all my heart,” Feanne answered, her voice cracking. She lowered her eyes again, trying to pull her hand free of Insrin’s, but he did not budge.
“I should have let you go far sooner,” Insrin said, his ears drooping. “I wanted you to be happy, but I ignored the easiest way to give that to you. I’m sorry, Feanne. Everything I did was wrong. You didn’t deserve how things ended. You didn’t deserve what I called you, and you don’t deserve to be without Estin now.”
Feanne tore her hand free, and Raeln stepped up to grab Insrin if needed, but she held a hand up and stopped him. “Go away, Insrin. You’re forgiven, but now is not a time I can deal with this. These days, being a monster is all that keeps me alive. The name you gave me was fitting.”
“There is no other time left,” Insrin admitted, though he bowed his head and stood. “When Oramain brought me back, I’d hoped to apologize to both of you. This will need to suffice.”
Without another word, Insrin left Feanne and headed back to the stairs. Immediately Feanne covered her face, and Raeln could see she was struggling to keep from crying. The man, whoever he was, had shaken her badly. Despite her request that he stop, Raeln came to Feanne’s side and put a hand on her shoulder. She put one hand over his, keeping her face hidden until she managed to steady her breathing.
“A life for a life,” Feanne said, letting her hand drop to her lap. “My mate is gone, and we will likely never know where his body was thrown. Take your life back, Turess. I’ll take Kharali’s place in the mist.”
Raeln opened his mouth to argue, but before he could speak, Feanne rounded on him. She hopped to her feet to push him back, her claws digging into his chest. “You I will ask more of. Pledge your life against a promise.”
“Feanne, there is no way I—”
She punched him in the stomach hard enough that he had trouble finding words. The blow caught him by surprise, having e
xpected her claws instead. “I am still stronger than you,” she snapped, shoving Raeln against the wall of the cave and away from Turess and Dorralt. “This is not your place to lead. I am your pack-leader, as much as I am Greth’s. Pledge on your life and Greth’s that you will find my children and deliver a message.”
“Anything you ask,” Raeln finally managed to choke out, though he could not meet Feanne’s eyes. In looking away, he found himself watching Greth instead.
“Tell them that they were loved, and that their parents did not abandon them willingly. Tell them how their parents died trying to save them and their future. Most of all, tell them their parents died together, trying to do what was right. Promise me, Raeln. Anything more than that is up to you, but those things I want them to know and believe. They need to hear it and forgive us for being gone.”
Raeln nodded, closing his eyes to keep her from seeing his tears and to keep from looking at Greth’s face. He could only imagine what Greth must think of him for allowing this. He was letting another friend die, helpless to change the way things were turning out.
“Thank you,” Feanne said, moving her claws away from his chest and instead putting the pads of her hand on his stomach in a far more soothing gesture. “You have done more for us than most. No matter how long I am in there, I will not forget you and the others. I am forever in your debt.”
Raeln kept his eyes tightly shut as tears came. Feanne removed her hand from him, and he could hear her move away. He covered his face, trying to hide his shame and hold back the sobbing. He wondered if he would ever forgive himself for all the deaths.
“Turess, let us do this before I begin regretting my choices,” Feanne said.
Sniffling to keep his nose from running, Raeln opened his eyes and found Greth was standing nearby. He watched Raeln, ignoring Feanne and Turess’s preparations. Behind Greth, Raeln saw his mother watching him expectantly. She stared him down, her eyes saying she already knew what he was coming to grips with in his own heart. She had always understood without having to ask.